"A public verbal bashing." I watched my teenage daughter get cancelled on Snapchat.

Last week, I watched my teen daughter get cancelled on Snapchat in real-time. It was savage, brutal, and heartbreaking.

Friendships ended in a matter of minutes.

A young girl so inconsolable, devastated, and distraught. 

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A mother watching the pack mentality as girls were added to the group chat to participate in a public verbal bashing. Some of these girls she barely knew.

Other girls stuck in the middle, not wanting to support my daughter in case the same thing happened to them. 

It was vile, appalling, and honestly made me despair for this generation that we are raising who seem completely incapable of communicating with each other in person. What should have been a private conversation between two friends sorting something out became a very public ambush.

And why you ask?

All because of third-hand 'evidence' that my daughter had said something about another girl. 

In my day, if you had an altercation with someone at school, you had 16 or so hours before you saw them again. There was time to cool off, time to gather thoughts, and time to talk it through with others. 

Maybe you would have picked up the phone later that night and cleared the air. 

Now, messages are shot off in a matter of seconds, knowing that they can say whatever they want and (with Snapchat at least) it all disappears into thin air. 

The freedom of no accountability. 

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I took screenshots as it was all unfolding, which then caused another barrage of abuse. 

I’d had enough and told the girls that it was me and the conversation was not on. Did they apologise? Was there any remorse? No, they all left the group chat and disappeared like a puff of smoke.

Again, the freedom of no accountability.

Is my daughter innocent in her social media dealings? No, she’s not. Have we addressed that and put steps in place? Yes, we have.

But the apathy of other parents concerns me.

Parents burying their heads in the sand saying, 'Oh, I don’t understand how social media works' is pathetic and negligent. 

I am by no means the perfect parent, but I will do everything I can to learn about how our girls are growing up now, how it differs from my upbringing, and how to support her mental health, resilience and ability to communicate. 

And yes, I will also pull her up when needed.

This situation could have had a much different ending, one that could never have been resolved.

Feature Image: Getty.